Father's Day
by aslycsi1315
Summary: Rossi must return to one of the hardest cases of his career when while in New Mexico, an old ally kidnaps Hotch out of revenge against Rossi for the mistakes made in the twenty year old case.
1. Chapter 1

**Port Gamble, Washington**

_This is Pipa- Maria Sandberg with your top story. The manhunt for Farmington, New Mexico's Police Chief Jeffery Hinders continues into its eleventh day with the FBI and Washington State Police setting road blocks at the borders to the state of Washington. Authorities report that Hinders has incredibly dangerous as he has been found responsible for two murders in New Mexico, two in Nevada, and three in California along with kidnapping a federal agent. With Washington joining six other states- California, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, and Arizona- on alert, authorities plead that if this man shown on your television screens is seen, please stay inside and alert your local authorities. _

Jeffrey Hinders sits cross legged in front of the small 1970's brand black and white TV that's placed in the corner of the room. He repeatedly rubs his thigh, clicks the safety on the Beretta 92FS , and then rubs the back of his neck as the news reporter continues to speak on the TV. The light rays coming from the television are the only source of light in the dark living room. The man is listening intently for every ounce of information on the FBI's hunt for him and his captive.

_No statement from Mr. Rossi? They truly must be desperate. _

Hinders glances up to the television screen and sees that the redhead news reporter has moved onto a story about a hippie couple saving a puppy in a river. Satisfied, he stands up quickly, turns off the television and starts walking towards the stairwell. As he walks, he pulls out the Droid cellphone that's been turned off for the last few days out of his jacket pocket.

Halfway down the rickety stairs, he has turned the cellphone on and finds himself staring at the picture of a blonde haired boy on the home screen. Hinders keeps a calm, steady movement even knowing that since the moment he turned on the cellphone, the GPS was activated and the FBI would start tracking the agent's phone.

"Your son is cute," Hinders calls out when he steps off the last stair and walks over to the old bed in the corner of the basement room. He smiles when the agent squirms under the restraints on his wrists and ankles to the bed frame. Hinders sits on the edge of the bed and looks down into the eyes of Aaron Hotchner.

"Mmmhmm," the agent moans with another pull against the restraints on his wrists. Hinders places a hand on Hotch's face near the tape over his mouth and the dried blood on his cheek. " I wonder if David is worried about you." Hinders smiles at Hotch's now frozen state over Hinders' touch on his face. When his eyes fall onto the bloody FBI Hotch wears, the agent's breathing picks up in a panic.

"We're almost to Seattle, Aaron, and once we get there, Special Agent Rossi will pay for what he did to me," Hinders growls. He pauses and hears Hotchner's heavy breathing while glaring darkly at him. Hinders reaches over and slowly pulls the tape off of Hotch's mouth.

"Time for another check in," Hinders says maliciously. He reaches over to the small cup that has an unusual dark red liquid.

"Please….'ve son."

"I'll enjoy seeing your son grow up without his father. Thank Dave for this." With his free hand, he dials Rossi's number on the cell phone. He inhales deeply while waiting for an answer, which he'll know will come.

"Hinders."

Hinders smiles brightly and replies, "David Rossi, it's been twelve hours since we last talked."

"Where's Aaron?" Rossi growls, sounding exhausted and angry.

"He's right here with me," Hinders says. "Here's the next move, Rossi. In one hour, you will meet me where this all started, where you had a choice to do the right thing and you chose not to! If you don't Aaron will die." Hinders suddenly holds Hotch's mouth open and pours the liquid down his throat. He quickly tosses the cup to the side and forces the agent's mouth close to get him to swallow. He can hear Rossi gasp through the phone at the sound of the choking noises and thrashing coming from the Hotchner.

"One hour, David-"

"Is this all worth it?" Rossi growls, "Making me chase you all the way from New Mexico because of what happened to Sara Lucy twenty years ago?"

Hinders closes his eyes and sees the beautiful young face of the young girl he lost 20 years ago because of Rossi. "Yes. One hour, David, or he's dead."


	2. Chapter 2

Never ignore a gut feeling, but never believe that it's enough.-Robert Heller

* * *

**11 days earlier**

_I hate New Mexico._

SSA David Rossi stands in front of the glass window and watches raindrops slide down the window pane. He stands in Farmington, New Mexico's police station alone in one of the conference room for a moment to himself. Besides it raining, he's stuck on a case that filled with so much suspicion that he needs a second to take it all in.

In the past month alone, two unusual murders have plagued the city of 45,000. Two victims- a single mother of two and a middle aged businessman were kidnapped, drugged and stabbed to death. The team was briefed on the case over twelve hours ago before Garcia had mentioned a detail critical to Rossi- they would be working with Farmington's Police Chief Jeffery Hinders.

"_Aaron, I've worked with this man before in Port Gamble outside of Seattle 20 years ago. It didn't end well at all- I can't come on this case."_

"_We need everyone on board and plus, Chief Hinders asked for you specifically to lead this case." _

Hinders asking for him specifically didn't sit well with him at all.

After landing in the wet New Mexico weather, Hinders had greeted the team at the airport, especially Rossi, in a bright mood. No one on the team had taken it other than Hinders being a friendly face. Even when alone with Rossi at the latest crime scene, Hinders was so welcoming and relaxed around him that it frightened Rossi.

"_So the victim sat here before she was kidnapped. It's a shame, but we have to keep hope, right?"_

"_What the hell is wrong with you? What kind of game are you playing?"_

"_Excuse me?"_

"_Hinders, the last time we crossed paths, you were angry. Angry! You told me that there was a special place in hell for me for what had happened in Washington! And now you're acting all nice?"_

"_I'm not angry anymore, David. I believe that there's a reason for everything and what happened on that case happened for a reason."_

That was five hours ago.

Rossi places a hand on the glass and places his other hand on his holster. He has an aching feeling that the 'reason' Hinders claims to be ok with may involve some form of revenge. The agent knows that it's more than likely an unreasonably suspicion, but he plans to take it and run with it.

"Rossi?"

SSA Alex Blake's voice brings Rossi out of his daze. She's standing at the conference room door in her slightly damp FBI jacket. Blake says, " Hotch is looking for you. Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm ok," Rossi mutters. He turns away from the window and finds himself face-to-face with Blake. The newest member has a curiosity in her eye that Rossi hates. "What?"

"Hotch seems annoyed. What did you do?"

Rossi shakes his head and mutters, "I don't know….." He sighs loudly at Blake's curious eyebrow raise. " What?"

"It's just," Alex shrugs, " I heard that you and Hinders have a bad past. You haven't said a word to him since we got here. What happened between you two?"

"A case…..old case. Nothing for you to worry about…." Rossi trails off when he turns to see Hotch standing at the door. The Unit Chief quietly steps to the side of the door and says, "Blake, I need a minute with Dave."

"Sure." Blake sends Rossi a reassuring smile before quickly leaving the conference room. When they are alone, Hotch takes a heavy, frustrated breath before asking, " What did you say to Hinders?"

"I didn't say anything- wait, did he say that I said something?" Rossi scoffs and shakes his head, " I knew that he was lying about being ok."

"What happened in Port Gamble?"

Rossi pauses, taking a second to choose his next move. The Port Gamble case was a long time ago and something he'd rather not bring up unless emergent. "Don't worry about it," he replies.

Hotch cocks his head slightly and shoots Rossi an annoyed glare. Without breaking his glare, Hotch states, " You need to tell me or I'll have to take you off of the case. People's lives are in danger here and I can't have our relationship with the local police department be threatened because of a twenty year old beef between you and Hinders."

"Please tell me that you believe him over me!"

"Dave," Hotch's expression softens as he steps closer, "Right now, I have to think about the case, the victims' families, the news media vans outside and our ability to work the case with the local police. I know that what Hinders claimed you said is probably not true-"

"Probably?"

"When you don't tell me things, essential things, I have to question everything, ok? I need to go- Hinders found someone who was in the vicinity of the drop site for the second victim. I'm going to go with him and in the meantime, go back to the hotel and get some rest," Hotch replies. Rossi watches him walk out of the conference room and over to Hinders standing in the bullpen. As Hotch passes Hinders, Rossi swears that he can see a malicious smile flash on Hinders face before he follows Hotch out the door.

* * *

"It's quiet out here," Hotch comments when he steps out of the SUV in the parking lot in front of an apartment duplex on the other side of town. The area is desolate and rundown, a large difference from the area where the police station is located. The agent hesitates before he slides out of his jacket and reaches for his Kevlar vest. Something in his gut is telling to be safe than sorry.

"Yeah, it's our poor area if you want to call it that," Hinders jokes while he slams the passenger door shut. He walks around the front of the SUV before stopping at the sight of Hotch. Hinders nods before adding, "That's smart. I should have grabbed mine before we left."

"I have a son and I'm trying to take more precaution," Hotch says. He presses down the last strap and begins to follow Hinders towards the duplex.

"How's Dave?" Hinders calls over his shoulder. Hotch narrows his eyes in confusion at Hinders using Rossi's first name. _No one who Dave has problems with freely calls him by his first name. _

"The reason I ask is because he seemed off after your little chat. It seems like he cares a lot about you."

_Why is that of any importance to him? Who is this guy?_ Hotch thinks while tugging on the bottom of the vest.

"Hey, Aaron?"

_What did he just call me? _Hotch looks up and has less than a second to process that the care-free Police Chief is now aiming a gun at him. Hinders smiles and before Hotch can react, Hinders fires a bullet at Hotch's Kevlar vest. The force of the bullet causes him to fly backwards and land on the pavement with his head slamming against the ground.

_What the- oh, that wasn't a 9mm. That's got to be a .357- Oh God. _Hotch gasps for air against the sharp pain across his chest. Out of nowhere, another bullet hits his vest and he screams out in pain.

"Special Agent David Rossi was right about me," Hinders whispers when he kneels next to the agent. The police chief reaches in his back pocket and pulls out a needle from his jacket pocket. "Did he ever tell you that we worked together in Washington eons ago? His laziness and arrogance destroyed everything that I have. You ever heard of an eye for an eye?"

Hotch reaches to push Hinders away. He's barely conscious, but he can still see the needle in Hinders' hand. "Don't…don't…" He winces when Hinders jabs the needle into his neck.

"He took the closest thing in my life so I'm going to take his- you," Hinders says. He watches Hotch's hand slip from his vest on to the ground. As Hotchner finally slips into unconsciousness, Hinders whispers, "You and I are going to go for a little ride."


	3. Chapter 3

"_Mic, this isn't worth it! Put the weapon down and let Sara Lucy go!"_

"_Agent Rossi, Mic isn't going to listen. Let me talk to him-"_

"_You're too involved, Hinders. Stay out of this!"_

Rossi stares blankly at the empty glass in his hand while listening to the smooth sounds of an alto saxophone blaring from the bar radio. He sits alone at the bar in a mental state where he doesn't pick up the strong smell of beer blown around the bar by the ceiling fan above his head or that the brown haired, middle aged bartender that has been staring at him and wiping down the glass with a white rag for the last five minutes. The agent's mind is locked on the last day of the case in Port Gamble- the eerie woods, the yells and arguments during the standup, and the dead look in Sara Lucy's eyes, Sara Lucy Hinders' cold, empty eyes.

"You need another drink?" the bartender finally asks after placing the glass in his hand down on the shelf behind him. Rossi slowly lifts his gaze to meet the man's eyes before muttering, "No, I'm good."

"What's on your mind? You've been here for almost an hour and you've only had one drink. That's bad for business."

Rossi begins to fidget with the BAU ring on his finger. He sighs, "I just have a bad feeling."

"About what?" The bartender pulls a half bottle of scotch to the counter just in case his patron takes him up on a second glass. He watches Rossi pause to look away to decide whether to open up. The agent finally asks, "You ever have your past come back to get you?"

"Of course.

"Hmmm…..I have as well, but right now…..let's call him an old enemy has come back and I don't think it's for the better," Rossi scoots the glass close to the bartender, " I'll take that second drink."

"No problem." As the bartender pours Rossi half a glass of scotch, the cellphone next to Rossi's hand rings. With him off the case, he hadn't been expecting any calls from anyone for the rest of the night. Rossi taps his finger against the table before finally answering after the third ring. The caller is a very frantic JJ.

"Dave, where are you?"

"I'm off the case," Rossi says, " Didn't Hotch tell you that?"

"Hotch is missing."

Rossi freezes and stammers, ""How-how do _you_ know that he's missing?" _I just saw him. _

"A woman on the second floor of the apartment duplex where Hotch and Hinders were supposed to visit," JJ states, " called the station about twenty minutes ago saying that she heard two gunshots from the parking lot. She peeked out her head from her window and saw Hinders dragging a description of Hotch from the SUV and into a black car. Tell me where you are so I can pick you up-"

"I'm on the far side of town," Rossi replies. He places a fifty on the table and grabs his jacket. " Is it the duplex that we passed when we first arrived?"

"Yeah, that exact one-"

"I'm about two minutes away. I'll drive myself. Is anyone there?"

"The rest of the team. Only CSU is allowed anywhere near the SUV," JJ says fiercely, "No cops."

"That's my girl," Rossi says. He pulls out his jacket and steps into the cool air. He doesn't know when it had stopped raining and nor does he care. He doesn't care about the huge backlash that will come at him for not telling Cruz about Hinders or how the Farmington Police will react to one of their own becoming a kidnapper.

All he cares about is finding Hotch and destroying Hinders.

* * *

The parking lot in front of the duplex is chaotic.

Rossi pulls the SUV to a stop at the corner street across from the apartment duplex. The parking lot is completely sealed off by FBI owned crime scene tape, leaving only Reid and Morgan and an empty FBI issued SUV inside. The apartment duplex appears empty- only a mother carrying a small Maltese in her arms can be seen speaking with Blake at the bottom of the stairs. As expected, a line of Farmington police officers line the sidewalk across from the parking lot, each man and woman standing tall with crossed arms and dark glares.

_Obviously in protest, _Rossi thinks as he parks the SUV across the street from the parking lot. He begins jogging slowly towards the scene, picking up on every detail that he can- _ten patrons from the duplex, seven angry officers, a CCTV and red light camera at the intersection that we can use. _The first person Rossi comes across when he reaches the tape is JJ, who's in a deep argument on the phone.

"Well, we had no idea, Matt…. We can handle this! Hinders appeared completely fine to me when we got here and the officers here are insulted that we'd even think that Hinders… Do _you _run background checks on every man you come across? Dave's here. I'll call you back." She ends the call and looks up to him with a mix of worry and annoyance.

"Cruz?" Rossi asks as he kneels under the crime scene tape. JJ sighs and says, "Police Sergeant Carter Thompson is beyond pissed that we accused Hinders of doing this. That's why there's the standing vigil across the street. Thompson called Cruz with a complaint and now Cruz will no doubt pull us off or take over lead."

Rossi can't respond because his gaze is locked on the spot on the ground between Reid and Morgan. He can see an empty needle next to a line of drops of blood leading towards the SUV. His mind suddenly begins to run chaotically of scenarios based on what could have happened to the Unit Chief.

"Guys, " Reid calls out. He jogs up to JJ and Rossi with a tablet in hand and holds it out to Rossi. The eldest agent takes the tablet and finds himself looking down a still photo of Hinders carrying an unconscious Hotch over his shoulder to a black 2000 Subaru Outback.

"Hinders was walking in front of Hotch before he turned around and shot him twice in the vest. He then drugged Hotch, waited until he lost conscious, and then carried him over to the Subaru that was sitting across the street," Reid explains. " This intersection has the only CCTV camera due to its high rate of traffic accidents and crimes. Garcia's checking to see if the Outback has shown up on any other cameras throughout town."

Blake suddenly appears next to Reid. "Miss Tina Jay didn't see a license plate on the back of the Subaru. I couldn't get anything else out of her."

"I knew it…I knew it," Rossi mutters angrily while crossing his arms and shaking his head. "With Washington-"

"Washington," Morgan repeats, "What exactly happened in Washington to make him do something like this?"

Rossi ignores the question. "What about Aaron's cellphone? Is it here- has Garcia tried to track it?"

"Dave!" Morgan exclaims, "Calm down- we are doing everything we can between the six of us. We will get Hotch back."

The only thing that stops Rossi is the sound of his cellphone ringing loudly from his jacket pocket. As he pulls the cellphone out his pocket, he runs his hand through his hair as he sees Hotch's number flash across the screen. "Aaron is calling me."

Morgan immediately turns to dial Garcia to have her track the call. With Blake, Reid, and JJ anxiously staring at him, Rossi hesitates before answering the call, "Hinders."

"Your move, David."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rossi exclaims. It's one of the quickest times he's ever lost control with a suspect.

"Time is ticking," Hinders states maliciously, "The longer it takes for you to catch me, the less likely this will end well."

"Catch you? Is Aaron alive?"

"He's hurting, but alive. Keep your phone on at all times-"

"This isn't a game-"

"You toyed with lives like it was a game twenty years ago!" Hinders roars so loudly that Rossi has to pull the phone away from his ear. Morgan holds up a finger in the air to signal him to keep talking.

"With Sara Lucy and Mic and-" Rossi freezes when he suddenly hears the dial tone on the other end. He leans forward and places his hands on his knees to steady himself from losing it.

"What happened?" Reid asks. Behind him, Morgan approaches the group and says, " Garcia got him between two cell towers in Arizona. He's near Teec Nos Pos in Arizona, one hour away. What did Hinders say?"

_I don't even know what half of what he said means. Think, think, think! _Rossi shakes his head and straightens his stance. " He told me that the next move is on me," he says, " So here's what we're going to do. JJ and Reid- both of you stay here and get everything you can on the station and what Hinders was doing until today. Get Cruz, Garcia, and Kevin down here if need be. The rest of us will go to Arizona."


	4. Chapter 4

**Teec Nos Pos, Arizona**

"This isn't a game-"

With a smug smile on his face, Hinders presses his ear against the phone in hand as he sits in the Subaru on the side of Interstate 64. He has to stop himself from squealing in delight at the pure anxiousness in Rossi's voice- a year of hard planning and everything is running perfect.

"You toyed with lives like it was a game twenty years ago!" he roars before he ends the call and drops the phone into his lap.

Hinders sits back for a minute and listens to the addictively satisfying sound of his captive's staggered breathing from the trunk of the car. With their technical analyst tracking his call, Hinders knows that he has three to ten minutes before the small town a few minutes down the road is alerted that the chief that has a history of visiting their lovely town is a serial killer and a kidnapper.

So to be safe, he has five minutes to enact the next part of his plan- changing vehicles.

He takes out a cigarette and lights it while taking a glance out of the rear view mirror. A pair of headlights appears into the view no more than a few minutes behind the Subaru. Hinders takes the .357 Smith and Wesson and jams it into his jacket pocket. The car will do nicely…..

In the trunk of the Subaru, Hotch lies unconscious on the trunk floor with his hands hand cuffed behind his back and his mouth covered with a large piece of duct tape. He dreams of being under his warm blanket in bed with son and his girlfriend on a Sunday morning. There's no pain, no Hinders, no case- until a shooting, blinding pains brings him into reality. His eyes fly open to see nothing but darkness.

_Wha-wha-what happened? _He thinks nervously. He can almost immediately feel the cold handcuffs cutting into his wrists. " Mmhhmmmm!"

Hotch lays his head against the floor and winces as he feels the world turn around him. There's a staunch smell around him that smells like gas and urine. It's becoming harder and harder every second to think straight. _I was-um…I was standing with….._ The agent struggles to think before he rolls onto his side and sees the back of a car headlight._ Trunk…..I need to sleep, but I think I'm in a trunk._

"Please, no!"

Hotch freezes and looks up in the direction of a woman's cry.

_Pop! Pop!_

He can hear two gunshots boom from outside of the trunk. In his state, Hotch anxiously begins to breathe through his nose. _Someone's got a …there's a gun…_

The trunk suddenly opens up and Hotch finds himself looking up at Hinders. "Look, who's awake," Hinders chuckles, "Scared like a child. I wouldn't freak out about how you're feeling now- that little cocktail was just a teaser of what's coming. On your feet."

"Mmmhmm….." Hotch moans when Hinders pull him out of the trunk and into the cool air. The agent's knees buckle when he's on his feet.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk,- don't be weak," Hinders says. He half drags-half guides Hotch past the side of the Subaru and towards an unrecognizable vehicle a few feet away. Hotch is seconds from passing out as they walk but manages to hold on until they pass a sight between the two vehicles. Whatever Hinders had drugged with him, it's enough to turn always stoic, strong Aaron Hotchner into something confused and scared.

The sight of the two bodies- a husband and a wife who were on a simple drive- causes him to pass out.

* * *

**Farmington, NM**

At 5'7", JJ appears tiny as she stands crossed armed in front of the line of seven very tall, very angry Farmington Police officers. She isn't the least bit afraid- she's homicidally pissed at the arrogance of the men, the pure and stupid loyalty of these men defending Jeffery Hinders.

"I don't care about whether Jeffery Hinders was your best friend, at your wedding or saw your son born. He has kidnapped a federal agent and I need to know if he's said anything about leaving New Mexico," JJ states angrily.

"Hinders hasn't done anything," a 6'1" dark haired officer at the end of the line calls out. "Your boss probably ran off with some bitch and needed a cover story!"

"We have actual proof- video and a phone call- of Hinders kidnapping Hotch," Reid says. He's timidly standing behind JJ with a tablet in hand. While JJ is working over the police officer, Reid is on phone call patrol by waiting for a phone call from the team, who had left five minutes earlier for Teec Nos Pos.

"You all seem like a close knit team so one of you has to know something about Hinders' plans," JJ says, "Our team is just as close- Agent Hotchner is a single father to a beautiful eight year old son. It hurts to know that Hinders isn't good as you think he is, but you have to accept it and help us."

The majority of the officers maintain the same, stoic glare back at JJ. The shortest officer, who Reid can see on his name tag to be McGregor, relaxes his expression and looks to his feet. Reid steps up to McGregor and says, "Please help us."

"Hinders sold his house two months ago after he went on a four day car trip somewhere, I don't know," McGregor says. He takes a quick glance down the line and sighs, "Last week, he was talking about Agent Rossi a lot like he knew you guys were coming. Him kidnapping Agent Hotchner makes a lot of sense."

"This was premeditated," Reid calls out to JJ. The blonde haired agent is already dialing Garcia's number and walking back to the SUV. The perky red haired analyst answers after the first ring.

"Jay, have you heard anything? I know that the team just left and everything," Garcia exclaims in a high pitched voice, " I'm coming, I'm coming, I'm coming- I am even flying on a super jet with Cruz to get there! How did Rossi not see this coming? What if-"

"Penny, please breathe. I need you or Kevin to run through Hinders' back accounts and look for any major movements of cash. One of the officers said that Hinders sold his house, went on a mysterious road trip and seemed to know that Rossi was coming from last week."

"Selling his house? Money?" Garcia lets out a whimper, "Don't creepy bad guys like this usually kill themselves and their victims in the end?"

_I'm surprised she remembers that. _JJ breathes in deeply. "Yes."


	5. Chapter 5

**Interstate 64**

"JJ, we've made it and they aren't here."

Blake stands on the side of the road in front of the team's remaining SUV less than a mile from Teec Nos Pos. She along with Rossi and Morgan had sped down to the location of the GPS signal and found the missing Subaru Outback with two bodies in the back seat.

"There's two bodies here- a husband and wife," Blake continues to explain. She looks over her shoulder to see Morgan examining the bodies and Rossi standing alone in the middle of the road. "Hinders carjacked them, killed them and stuck them in the back seat. There's also a pile of ashes and looks like Hinders tried to burn the license plate of the stolen car and the couple's driver license."

"Why would he call Rossi, wait for us to track the call and then cover his tracks when we get here?" JJ asks. "We talked to some of the police officers and one said that Hinders went on a trip, sold his house and acted as if he knew that Rossi was coming."

"You think Hinders killed the two victims to get Rossi to come here?"

"They were unusual murders. How's Rossi?"

"I'll let you know. I'm going to call you back." She ends the call and pockets her cell phone in her back pocket. She crosses the street and calls out, "Dave- this doesn't mean that Hotch is dead. This looks just like a basic carjacking."

Rossi doesn't reply as he stares down on the rain streaked road. He hasn't said a word since they've arrived at the crime scene and he can't. _We were here in thirty minutes; _Rossi thinks sadly, _Hinders killed two people in thirty minutes. My God, Aaron is screwed._

"Dave, come help us go over the Outback," Blake says. She reaches to touch his shoulder, but he shrugs her off.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to do that," Rossi stammers, "Yeah, I'm coming." He follows her towards the Outback where Morgan is separating the remains of items from the ashes. He takes a quick picture of what appears to be an Arizona driver license.

"According to JJ and a police officer, Hinders probably killed the businessman and the single mother to get Rossi here. He sold his house and went on a four day car trip. Hinders doesn't plan on coming back to New Mexico," Blake says.

Morgan stands up and holds out the license. "For a person who's so planned, he made a risky move carjacking a vehicle. He also made a risky move heading west. From Teec Nos Pos, there's only two ways he can go- continue down one road west in Arizona or take the other route which will lead him into Colorado. We alert Arizona and Colorado state police and he has nowhere to go."

"We don't," Rossi speaks up. "Like any other unsub that we corner, he could panic and kill Aaron. "

"So what do you want to do?" Blake asks.

"I don't know…I don't know…" Rossi mumbles as he shrugs. "Derek, you need to-because I can't-"

"We go back to Farmington and you tell us everything on this case," Morgan says, "Everything."

* * *

On a stretch of road an hour away, Hinders hums happily to his favorite song, _Faithfully_ by Journey as it blares from the area's lone radio station. He nods his head to the beat as he drives as he's in an incredibly great mood. The car transfer was easy- the couple didn't put up much of a fight, burning every trace of identification of the car and the couple was a quick process and moving Hotchner into the blue Chevy Volt was easy with the agent passed out.

"Right down the line, it's been you and me," Hinders sings softly. With the music blasting loudly, he can't hear his captive's screams from the trunk. He had injected Hotchner with a higher dose of the cocktail and by the sounds of the moans and screams caused by the psychotics in the cocktail, it's working.

"Faithfully…."

* * *

**Farmington , NM**

"Ok, McGregor. Tell us everything you can about Hinders," JJ asks the short, red-headed police officer after ending the call with Garcia. They stand in the apartment duplex's front porch as far away as possible from the vigil of officers. JJ can immediately pick up on the fear from McGregor, but she can't pin point whether it's because of the betrayed, angry glares from his fellow officers or because of Hinders.

McGregor shrugs and looks away from the agent. "I told you what I know. He went on some trip two months ago, he sold his house-"

"Do you know where he had been living?"

"He rented out a motel room at Bernie's Bay down the street. He never said why he needed the money even though I asked him like a million times…Damn, I shouldn't have dropped it."

"It's ok," JJ blatantly lies in a soft voice. Even McGregor catches it as he rolls his eyes and mutters, "Don't pull that card. Don't treat me with kid gloves the same way everyone in law enforcement does to the people who's just found out that they'd been living with some kind of weirdo and not know it. I should have realized what was going on."

_Damn straight you should have. _"That motel room- can you give me the address of where Bernie's Bay is?"

"Yeah," McGregor points forward at the flashing pink neon sign in the distance. "It's right under that sign."

"Ok, thanks," JJ steals a quick glance over to the line officers. She quickly pulls out her scratchpad, scribbles down her number and hands it to McGregor. "I'm putting you in charge of this crime scene. Don't let Thompson or anyone else on the scene, ok? Call me if something happens."

"Yes, ma am," McGregor replies with a nod. JJ jogs up to Reid, who's in the middle of examining the needle found near the SUV and says, "I found where Hinders is living. Let's go check it out."

When they arrive twenty minutes later, Reid is the first to step into the dark motel room. He clicks on the light and begins to _really_ wish that McGregor hadn't let Hinders' odd behavior go.

Especially when both agents find themselves in a room with dozens and dozens of surveillance photos of Aaron Hotchner.


	6. Chapter 6

"I've called Teec Nos Pos' Police Chief and he said it'll take fifteen minutes to get his three man team down here to process the car," Morgan says as the three agents stand behind their SUV. They've taken enough pictures of the Outback, the bodies, the ash pile and the area surrounding the crime scene to allow them to review the scene back at the hotel. Blake had just finished circling the crime scene one last time and Rossi had been staring down the highway in a complete daze.

"Dave, did you hear me?" Morgan calls out. The lead agent barely glances over his shoulder towards Morgan and mutters, "Yes, I heard you."

"Since we have to wait, why don't we start talking about the case?" Blake suggests. She watches Rossi slowly turn around hesitantly to face Morgan and her. He shivers lightly against the cooler air and places his hands in his pocket.

"What about Reid and JJ?" Rossi asks.

"We'll catch them up when we get back."

"Alright." Rossi takes a few steps towards them and says, "Before I get into it, you have to understand how arrogant I was at the time."

"As opposed to now?" Morgan asks with a smirk and the full intention to calm Rossi's nerves for the moment.

"Touché. Anyway, it was 1994 and one of my first trips to Seattle," Rossi states, " About three years before I flew to Seattle and met Aaron, there was a series of murders and I was the only man sent from the BAU to aid the Port Gamble police departments….."

* * *

**March 11, 1994- Port Gamble Bay**

"Ah, hell. I thought Washington was supposed to be cool this time of year," Rossi mutters under his breath as he trudges down the thin path that will lead him through the thick woods and finally to Port Gamble bay. In front of him, a younger police officer walks in front of him quietly with his boots crunching loudly against the gravel. The cop doesn't look much older than twenty five years old and by his confusion and hesitancy, new to the business of law enforcement.

"Yeah, it's supposed to hit even 81 tomorrow! For March, I think it's a record," the cop laughs. He looks back to Rossi and asks, "So FBI…you said that you study behavior, right?"

"Yeah." Rossi uses a handkerchief to wipe sweat from his forehead. He's in no mood to be in the annoying heat or fly to a small town of less than a thousand to assist on a two-victim murder that he could help easily from Washington D.C. "How much further?"

The officer pushes two hanging tree branches to the left and reveals the small shoreline. Rossi groans as he passes the young police officer and down to where a medical examiner and an older police officer stand over a body.

"Do you know where I can find Jeffery Hinders?" the agent calls out. The medical examiner doesn't look up, but the older officer raises a hand in response.

"That's me," the officer calls out. When he turns to face Rossi, the agent can see the man to be a few years younger than himself, very physically fit and showing the grittiness in his eyes seen in many seasoned officers. "I'm Jeff Hinders, the lead on this case. Agent David Rossi, right?"

"Yes. " The agent immediately kneels next to the body and eyes the victim top to bottom- a fair faced co-ed lays on the ground with her glossy eyes open. She's soaked to the bone, covered in moss, and most noticeably has needle marks scattered over her left arm.

"A drug addict who wandered into the lake and drowned, I'm guessing."

"Her name is Nanima Hent. I graduated with her and I know that she would never try drugs."

"Are you sure? There are needle marks all over her arm and unless you have another explanation-"

"Namina isn't a drug addict," Hinders mutters. He steps back to speak with the medical examiner and Rossi realizes, _He sounded impassive just now. For someone so sure about an old deadfriend, he sounded empty. _He makes a note to pull it up later when he suddenly catches the gaze of another dark haired man half a mile down the shore.

"You have an audience," Rossi comments, loud enough for both medical examiner and Hinders to hear.

"Oh, that's my daughter, Sara Lucy's fiancée, Mickey Dawson or Mic people in town call him. Don't worry about him. He likes to check out crime scenes- he won't be a bother."

* * *

**Present Day**

Rossi pauses in his story when he hears the faint sound of sirens off in the distance. He takes in a deep breath with his eyes closed in relief at the sound of the arrival of the small Arizona's town's infantry. He's only just begun the story of the case and he'd rather have Aaron safe and sound before he reveals to the team how truly pissed Jeffery Hinders really is.

"Dave, let's go," comes from somewhere behind him, from Blake most likely. Rossi cocks his head in wonder when a large white haired man slides out of the first police car that pulls to the side of the road. He doesn't hear Morgan, who walks up to shake the man's hand and point to the small crime scene or the gasps and murmurs of wonder from a pair of younger officers poking their heads out of the back windows.

"Dave, come on."

Rossi feels a tug on his arm from Blake and it's enough to get him to move. It's a hesitant move, but he's moving none the less. As long as he gets a push here and there, doesn't have to go through the real reason for Hinders' hatred and there's hope to getting Aaron back before the famed '48 hours' limit, David Rossi should be functional.

In 40 minutes time, though, he won't' be.


End file.
